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Multiracial Families Share Strategies For Raising Children

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-843471.mp3

Kansas City, MO – President Barack Obama, champion golfer Tiger Woods and actress Halle Berry: they're some of the best-known of a growing segment of the US population. People who identify themselves as multiracial are the fastest growing group in the country. The Census Bureau recently reported that the number has risen by 3.4% to 5.2 million. And now that people can check more than one box for race, 33% more Americans did just that.

Real numbers, however, are hard to come by. Some multiracial Americans still identify themselves according to what's called the "one-drop" rule. It's a carry-over from the times of slavery, when just one drop of African blood was enough to identify a person as black. So why are people feeling more comfortable identifying themselves as multiracial now? KCUR's Susan B. Wilson recently visited a local group of multiracial families to find out more.

The Multiracial Family Circle meets monthly at the Community Christian Church near the Plaza.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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